I Say Someone Else's Prayers

“For the last 6 months, I’ve been saying someone else’s prayers.”...The look this got me from one of my protestant friends was funny enough for me to say it over again.

I am fortunate enough to have some lively and fun debates with friends but this one was going to be extra fun! “Now why would you say someone else’s prayers?” he rattled off almost immediately. “What sort of Catholic rule is this?” “You say each other’s prayers now?””What? Did the Pope make a new law?” I just sat there giggling like 4^th grader. I had just thought of something to tell him and knew I’d get a funny response from him if I worded it in just the right way. Of course, he wanted an explanation so I gave it to him.

6 months ago I was in a rut. Despite praying on my own every morning and together with my wife at night, it was beginning to feel dry. It was like they were just words I was repeating every day in the same order. The feelings behind them were beginning to seem pre-fabricated and more like something mandatory than something from my heart. We had recently been praying for something special. It was very important to us and was concerning someone else. There was a child we were praying for and we just knew that it was in his best interest that he did not move out of town. This way we could spend more time with him and continue to take him to church. (He wanted to be baptized) He’d become part of our family and we just knew that God would arrange it where he could stay. Besides being our son’s best friend, we loved him. Now after the child had to move far away and my prayers weren’t answered, I just didn’t seem have the same passion any more. Now I knew what I was supposed to feel. I knew that God “probably had a better plan” and one day we would “figure it all out” but honestly, that didn’t take away the sting of disappointment. I was going to keep on praying but only because I had to. I did, however, ask God at the end of my prayers to help me; help me to get back to where I was. He answered.

One day at work I was trying to listen to a daily broadcast of Mass but the site I usually go to was down. So I tried to find another. I ran across The Knights of Columbus site and saw a “prayer” tab. Now I’m not completely ignorant and I know that we Catholics have prayers about pretty much everything, but for some reason I just started clicking on different ones and reading them entirely. Growing up in a Catholic home but in a protestant school, I was never really taught HOW to pray. You just closed your eyes (around the Protestants) or bowed your head (around the Catholics) and said what was in your heart. What you certainly DIDN’T do was read a prayer off a piece of paper out loud right? Well, after searching through certain categories, I started reading different ones. I discovered some good prayers that said exactly what I was feeling in my heart. Most of the time, the success of my prayer life was dependent upon how tired I was every morning or whether or not I could get my thoughts completely together. Sometimes I just forgot what I wanted to say. But these prayers were straight to the point and perfectly organized. Now not every prayer was exactly what I needed but I found myself printing off different ones and putting them in a prayer folder.

Since then, every morning I start by going through my regular prayers of forgiveness, thanks and petitions and when I’m at the end, I open the folder. I have my 6 or 7 that are a must for me each day, but I also have around 20 or 30 to pick from depending on what I need to pray for the most. For example; when my teenager has hit my last nerve and the dog has peed on the floor for the 4^th day in a row, you better believe that the 2 prayers I have for patience and anger are making their way to the top of the stack. When I feel like the devil is in a constant attack mode against me and my family, there is the powerful “St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer” against all evil. This one also works great against any doubts or lack of faith issues I may have sometimes. In the beginning I started off clumsily reading through these but in time, I almost know them by heart. The coolest thing is that I’m picking prayers that pertain to me and my struggles. Not only that but they are the prayers of the Saints and some of the greatest men and women who were ever inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Now I can pray more decisively and directly about each issue. No more struggling to remember.

Now let’s get back to my conversation with my friend. After explaining this all to him, he was surprisingly warm to the idea. I explained that the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed were also written prayers handed down from Jesus and the founders of the Church. Now I don’t know if he will ever take my advice or if I can even convince any of you to do the same, but I can assure of one thing. It has given me a more successful prayer life. What started out as a sleepy, drifting off, fumbling, bumbling attempt at closeness with God, has turned into a fine tuned open channel of communication. No matter how tired I am or how much I want to skip the morning prayers sometimes, I find myself staring at that manila folder next to the den door. Deep down I think it is God’s way of calling me into that room to talk. Talk about my life and my dreams and my struggles.

So yes, every day I am proud to say, “I read and say out loud, someone else’s prayers to God.”